Hi--
We took three animals to our humane society (usa) to be spayed and neutered. Within a week,probably less but we didn't notice, the animals developed crusty sores which flaked off to show hairless smooth skin. when the hair grows back, it grows back dark.

We have another dogand cat that were nottaken to this facility and they are fine, even though both are years older.

The cat, amale lilac point siamese, had just one lesion like a thumbprint on the nape of theneck, which went away and he seems to be just fine. It has not recurred. The smallest male dog, a chihuahua, got it the worst and after several different antibiotics, doxycycline and prednisone seem to be clearing it up finally, though I don't know yet if it will suddenly reoccur once this has been stopped. Also, vomiting and coughing was a feature, though he may have a collapsed trachea problem, that is the next step.

A female bulldog has pimply and tiny black spots under her neck with hair thinning, red inflamed, really looking at first like an allergic reaction to a topical or even just a nervous thing, like tiny hives or flushing, but later moving on to freckle size grayish skin pigment changes almost like bruising. She is on bactrim just started, with some diarrhea and vomiting, though the bulldog eats anything and you have to watch her. We live in a wooded area.

What concerns me is that sometimes my son or I will get a crusty sore like the dogs have, we don't get the hyperpigmentation the dogs seems to get sometimes, but I was unable to clear it up with muciprocin ointment, in fact it got worse, much worse.

I have seen lots of stuff on the internet about this type of infection and I am beginning to think this not staph, or just staph, but possibly a tuberculoid infection from mycobacterium. I live in the deep south, we have armadillos and other critters. I'm sure the initial infection came from the rescue dog, the vet at the humane society confirmed this, unfortunately someone perhaps had contact with the dog without changing gloves and cleaning up. The rescue dog maybe ate roadkill, who knows.

Is there any serious research into this seemingly incureable infection? Why are my really strong healthy young dogs coming down with this, is it from antibiotics in the meat in the dog food? We have started mixing our own chicken feed to avoid this in our own chickens and the chickens are much stronger, fatter and healthier.

If this were a mycobacterium, like leprosy, and my yard is a mushroom farm after it rains and stays boggy due to clay, what can be done? Will doxycycline cure it? Can the rest of us reinfect the dogs again?

Your best bet would be to have the vet take a sample and send it off to the lab to test to see what it is, and what it is susceptible too. Ometimes, even the healthiest and trongest individuals come down with "stuff". Being all three and not the others, sure sounds like there is a connection.

Did you call the humane society to see if they had kind of outbreak with the dogs there or if any dog has or had something similar to what your pets have?
I would try to keep your other pets separated until you can bring your 3 pets to the vet.